Double filtered cigarette

ABSTRACT

A cigarette having a rod-shaped tobacco element with a first end and a second end. A first filter element is attached to the first end of the tobacco element and a second filter element is attached to the second end of the tobacco element. A tubular wrapper surrounds the tobacco element and has a circumferentially extending tear line in a region mid-way along the tobacco element between the two filter elements. The tear line facilitates tearing of the wrapper and breaking of the tobacco element in half.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cigarettes, and particularly to a breakable cigarette that provides either a single longer cigarette or two shorter cigarettes.

Society today is placing greater and greater restrictions on where individuals can smoke cigarettes, particularly indoors. In many municipalities, smoking is completely prohibited in office buildings and restaurants. Workers and patrons are therefore forced to go outdoors to smoke a cigarette. Normally, particularly for employees, there is a limited amount of time for them to smoke a cigarette before they must return to work. When smoking conventional cigarettes, this results in smoking only a portion of the entire cigarette. The remaining unsmoked portion of the cigarette is then either discarded or somehow saved for later use. This results in either wasting a portion of the cigarette, which in today's market is quite expensive, or attempting to store a partially-burned cigarette which entails saving the dirty, burned cigarette somewhere for later use.

This problem has been addressed to a degree in the past, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,434 discloses a breakable cigarette with a slidable holder. In this patent, a cigarette holder and the cigarette are broken in two. Once the holder and cigarette are broken in half, the user must slide the holder completely across the cigarette to the opposite end where it engages a flange to be held in place.

A number of other patents are known in the art, i.e., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,391,699; 2,968,305; 2,979,058; and 609,741, which show two full-length cigarettes connected by a filter or mouthpiece which is then cut in half to separate the cigarettes. However, none of this prior art provides a simple and easy to assembly cigarette which allows a smoker to smoke half of the cigarette then cleanly and hygienically store the remaining portion of the cigarette for later consumption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cigarette that can be selectively broken at a mid-point to provide two shorter cigarettes, or can be smoked as a full-length cigarette.

Pursuant to this object, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one aspect of the present invention resides in a cigarette having a rod-shaped element of cigarette tobacco and a separate filter element at each end of the rod-shaped tobacco element. The filter elements and the tobacco element are enclosed by a tubular paper wrapper.

In a central region of the tobacco element between the two filters, slight indentations or perforations are provided which do not completely penetrate the paper wrapper. These indentations or perforations permit the cigarette to be broken in two to provide two half-length cigarettes, each with its own filter.

Furthermore, an additional indentation or perforation can be provided in the paper wrapper in the region between one of the filters and the tobacco elements. This way, the filter near the perforation can be broken off from the tobacco element to provide a longer cigarette with a filter should the smoker have the time or desire to smoke such a longer cigarette.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as to its construction and method of operation together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cigarette pursuant to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the cigarette of FIG. 1 split in two.

FIG. 3 shows the cigarette of FIG. 1 with the filter broken off one end.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the filtered cigarette 1 of the present invention. The cigarette is comprised of a rod-shaped tobacco element 2 having a filter element 3, 4 at each end thereof. As is conventional in the art, a paper wrapping surrounds the tobacco and filter. The tobacco element 2 has a tear line formed by perforations or indentations 5 in the paper wrapper at a point along the tobacco element that is central between the filters 3, 4.

A further indentation or perforation 6 is provided in the paper wrapping at an end of the tobacco element adjoining the filter 4. It is also possible to provide another perforation or indentation 7 at the other end of the tobacco element 2 adjoining the filter 3.

Next will be described how the cigarette 1 is utilized by a smoker. When the smoker removes the cigarette 1 from a pack, it appears as shown in FIG. 1. The smoker then decides whether he has the desire or time to smoke an entire full-length cigarette or, the time to only smoke a shorter cigarette. If the smoker decides that insufficient time is available for the entire cigarette he or she breaks the tobacco element along the perforations 5 to provide two separate, shorter cigarettes, a, 1 b, as shown in FIG. 2. One of these cigarettes is smoked while the other is saved for later use.

If the smoker had instead decided that sufficient time was available for smoking an entire full-length cigarette, one of the filters 4 would be broken off to provide a longer tobacco element 1 c as shown in FIG. 3.

The indentations or perforations 5-7 in the paper wrapper do not completely penetrate the wrapper, or, if they do penetrate the wrapper, they do so only to an extent which would not hinder or impair the smokability of the tobacco element. The perforations or indentations are provided only to facilitate separation of the tobacco element and/or the filters from the tobacco element.

By providing the additional perforation 7, the smoker also has the option of smoking unfiltered cigarettes if he or she so desires.

With the present invention, the smoker has the option of smoking either a full-length cigarette or a shorter cigarette depending upon the time available to him or her or the desire to smoke less at the time. The invention provides the additional benefit that it is no longer necessary to throw away an unconsumed remaining portion of a smoked cigarette or store such an unhygienic, previously used item for later use. This allows the smoker to save money by not wasting unused tobacco, requiring the purchase of additional cigarettes, and also provides the benefit of the availability of a fresh, shorter cigarette for smoking at a later time as opposed to a previously semi-consumed cigarette with a correspondingly contaminated filter and burned end.

While the invention has been illustrated and described above, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, merely constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. 

1. A cigarette, comprising: a rod-shaped tobacco element having a first end and a second end; a first filter element connected to the first end of the tobacco element; a second filter element connected to the second end of the tobacco element; and a tubular wrapper of smokable material enclosing the tobacco element, the wrapper, at a mid-point along the tobacco element between the filter elements has a circumferentially extending first tear line, the tubular wrapper having a second tear line in a region of the first end of the tobacco element so as to facilitate tearing of the wrapper and removal of the first filter element from the tobacco element.
 2. The cigarette according to claim 1, wherein the tear line is formed by indentations in the wrapper.
 3. The cigarette according to claim 1, wherein the tear line is formed by perforations in the wrapper.
 4. (Canceled)
 5. The cigarette according to claim 1, wherein a third tear line is provided in the tubular wrapper in a region of the second end of the tobacco element so as to facilitate tearing of the tubular wrapper and removal of the second filter element.
 6. A method for using a cigarette having a rod-shaped tobacco element with a first end and a second end, a first filter element attached to the first end of the tobacco element and a second filter element attached to the second end of the tobacco element, and a tubular wrapper having a circumferentially extending first tear line in a region of the tobacco element mid way between the first and second filter elements, and a second circumferentially extending tear line in a region of the first end of the tobacco element, the process comprising the step of selectively tearing the tubular wrapper at one of the first tear line and the second tear line so as to either break the tobacco element in half or remove the first filter element. 